The Art and Craft of Coffee: An Enthusiast's Guide to Selecting, Roasting, and Brewing Exquisite Coffee

by Kevin Sinnott

“In the decades that Kevin Sinnott has spent meeting with and interviewing hundreds of coffee professionals, rather than crossing over to the dark side and becoming one himself, he has taken what he has learned and translated it from coffee geek-speak into English. Why? For the sole purpose of allowing you to better enjoy your coffee. In short, if you like coffee, you will love this book.” —Oren Bloostein, proprietor of Oren’s Daily Roast



There is no other beverage that gives you a better way to travel the world than coffee. You can literally taste the volcanic lava from Sumatra, smell the spice fields of India, and lift your spirits to the Colombian mountaintops in your morning cup of joe. The Art and Craft of Coffee shows you how to get the most out of your coffee, from fresh-roasted bean to hand-crafted brew.



In The Art and Craft of Coffee, Kevin Sinnott, the coffee world’s most ardent consumer advocate, educates, inspires, and caffeinates you.



Inside you will find:


How green coffee beans are farmed and harvested Insight into single-origin coffee beans and worldwide coffee harvests A photo guide to roasting your own coffee at home How to choose the best grinder for your beans A complete, visual manual for 9 coffee brewing styles, including French press, vacuum, Chemex, auto-drip, Turkish ibrik, and espresso
Delicous recipes for dozens of coffee and espresso beverages

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Cooking, Reference, Cookbooks

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

About the author

Kevin Sinnott is a nationally recognized coffee expert. He’s the author of two books and a DVD (Coffee Brewing Secrets) on the subject. His latest book is called The Art & Craft of Coffee. Publishers Weekly has called it the best book on the subject in recent years.
He’s talked coffee with Oprah Winfrey on national television, been featured in USA TODAY, The Chicago Tribune and other national publications, and discussed coffee and coffee brewing methods on ABC-TV’s 20/20, The Food Network and countless radio talk shows.

In 1995, he created The Coffee Companion, the first-ever consumer publication dedicated to finding and brewing the world’s best coffee. The Coffee Companion offered his unique blend of wit and passion in methodical, objective reviews of coffee brewers and related equipment. His moniker is Coffee Kevin. The Coffee Companion newsletter was considered ground-breaking as the articles focused on the information needs of the coffee drinker written with a Mark Twain style of humor. Original custom art-work was created for each issue by Robert Voigts of Wordsworth Design, a mega-talented artist and graphic designer. His custom coffee cup art was new for each and every issue. Printed on the finest quality heavy-weight cream stock each issue is unique and is now considered a highly regarded coffee collectable.

Currently, the CoffeeCompanion.com carries on Kevin’s role as Coffee Brewing Authority. Brewer manufacturers both eagerly await and fear his honest reviews and media outlets seek his straightforward expertise as one of the only independent coffee experts. Sinnott is unique in that he does not work directly for any coffee company, yet is considered among the most knowledgeable experts, particularly on the subject of brewing coffee.

Kevin is a television producer and his company Sinnott Productions created the first ever coffee reality series, Mission Coffee Can. This series about a group of college students who travel to Guatemala to learn about and market a new direct trade coffee was a ConnectedWorld.tv awards finalist at The 2011 International Broadcasting Conference in Amsterdam.

He also produced the definitive coffee brewing DVD, Coffee Brewing Secrets. Kevin traveled the country and interviewed the nations top experts on coffee and brewing. Each expert demonstrates their favorite coffee brewing method. Experts include veteran coffee writer Kenneth Davids, Allegro Coffee’s Christy Thorns, Terroir’s George Howell, Boyd Coffee’s Randy Layton, Peet’s Jim Reynolds, Oren Bloostein of Oren’s Daily Roast, The Queen of Green, Erna Knutsen and Tea and Coffee Trade Journal’s Donald Schoenholt.

Kevin is the host and creator of CoffeeCON the world first consumer coffee conference. Now in its second year its a show where attendees taste different varieties, roasts and learn to brew every brewing method.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information on bean varietals and growing regions was interesting and useful. I also liked the sections on roasting and cupping. I wasn't impressed by the sections on brewing and making espresso, and I think the food pairing and recipe section at the end was unnecessary. I think the recipes could be added into the chapters about brewing and espresso. Espresso should really be treated in a separate book. Some of the major brewing methods were also left out (Aeropress??), and I found quite a bit of misinformation in the book. Also, typos abound. That said, I think this is a book of beginner-level information, and as such it works pretty well. The pictures are fantastic and the overall presentation is pretty nice. I don't feel like it taught me more than a few things, and I wouldn't really call myself a connoisseur, but it was an enjoyable read.

[J. Pedro · Rating 3 out of 5]

For today’s standards, outdated (no mention of V60 or AeroPress). Looks like a secondary school book. Possibly because of the photos that, even though were decent, looked like they were taken in the 80s.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

** Books 248 - 2016 **

3,7 of 5 stars!

I've got more knowledge about coffee especially how to selecting, roasting and brewing the coffee. I am shocked since so many ways to brew the coffee. This books is really informative since it step by step process includes with pictures. I think i'm start to falling in love with coffee

Thankyou Bookmate!

[Cliff Dailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sinnott provided a steroid injection of coffee information to me while I was working at a local coffee shop. My favorite section to this day was on espresso. I recommend any barista (certified or not) to have this book for you will make better drinks with better knowledge.

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book dutifully follows coffee's journey through history, geography, economy, and into the kitchen, explaining tips and techniques and offering enthusiasm of the many ways coffee can be enjoyed. I learned nearly everything I want to know about coffee and am excited to get brewing my next cup.

[AlohaKarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A ton of information. The section on types of coffee is incredible and I wish it were available as a chart/cheat sheet! I learned a lot. Interesting book. Thanks to my brother Roy for loaning it to me.

[Andrew Mulnix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I unreservedly recommend this book to anyone interested in speciality coffee. I found this book comprehensive and ideal for coffee lovers at any stage.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on the fundamentals of coffee without being overly technical or pompous.

[Nathan Boler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well done overview of coffee from different regions, brewing methods, and all the important aspects of quality coffee. (Grind, water, roast, etc)

[Heathyr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I JUST LEARNED SO MUCH ☕🙌

[Fatimah Wahidah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read book for coffee lover.

[Joseph]

I had to stop drinking coffee recently so this book kinda sucked for me. Nothing personal!

[CS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

I first started drinking coffee in college (didn't we all?) and my first drink was a vanilla latte - sweet for my sweet tooth and enough to bury the coffee taste. Before it was popular and for a graduation gift for myself in 2008, I spent $40 on a Toddy system - a system I continue to use to this day. (Yes, against my better knowledge, I am claiming to be a hipster - I drank cold brew before it was cool, when people would look at me as if I had a horn growing out of my eye and wonder why I was purposefully drinking cold coffee.)

I have an automatic espresso machine, two French presses (a personal size and an 8-cup), the aforementioned Toddy system, a different cold brew system, an ibrik, an Aeropress, and a pour-over setup. An entire shelf in my cabinets is dedicated solely to coffee beans; an entire counter dedicated to my coffee setup as well. I own a Cuisinart grinder as well as a hand-grinder; I have two kettles, one of them being a snobby Fellow Kettle. I also have roasted my own green beans on the stovetop using an old crappy frying pan that refused to non-stick anymore. One of the several coffee cups I own says "Coffee Snob"; my wallet is a custom coffee print.

If this doesn't say "I love coffee", I don't know what will.

While there were odd bits and bobs in this that were insightful, other pieces were wrong (FREEZING COFFEE BEANS?!), outdated or common knowledge. There was no information on Aeropress in this - not surprising given it was written in 2010. Also - FREEZING COFFEE BEANS?! Sacrilege!

If you are brand-new to coffee, specifically interested in getting more involved, then perhaps this would be good for you. I do not recommend buying the currently $12.50 Kindle version - the images are placed weirdly with captions helter-skelter across the page. And $12.50 for an intro book is just too much IMO - I'd rather spend that on a nice COFFEE table book.

Har har!

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some chapters are essential to the slightly more than average specialty coffee consumer, like what to make of "fair trade" or "shade grown" or "organic" labels (sadly, that section was rather short) what sort of freshness, storage, grind consistency you'll want (roughly) and some of the best ways to go about making that perfect shot of espresso or dealing with your new french press. There was also a lot of things that would be useless to the average consumer but could interest small coffee shop business who want to roast their own beans.

What I found unnecessary for both the coffee consuming connoisseur and the small up-and-coming coffee joint was some of the random factoids and "weird coffee ways", such as brewing coffee via the ibrik or turkish method, "cowboy coffee" which consisted of sticking your beans in a sock and putting it in a pot of water over a campfire (as if people reading this book go camping, in the wild, hah), and the many pages that argued whether or not a certain consistency, darkness, or flavour was universally accepted as good by some high and unseen board of "coffee experts". Some details were often vague, but most vague details were only those that pertained to tidbits/unnecessary knowledge. There was an excess of information on coffee growing locations, many of which I've never seen or heard of coffee coming from and were regarded in the book as basically "don't buy coffee from here/from this method of grower".

That said, I learned almost everything I need to know about making my espresso machine work it's best, and some tips that would help me moderate flavour, acidity, and intensity at home. Worthwhile for going the extra coffee mile.

[Arif · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learn a lot from this book: beans origin and varieties, roasting methods, different brewing methods from hot and cold, tastes of origin, blending bean varieties, storing beans, tools and equipments, roastings, grindings, and coffee presentation (with good photography illustration). With such knowledge, I knew making a cup of good coffee at home doesn't necessarily making us broke, since there are some affordable brewing methods (such as drip and french press with cheap tools) and its tasted good compared to using expensive tools. Tough I am a bit confused on the categorization of Indonesian coffee variety. He puts Java outside of Indonesia and Oceania category.

This is a good introduction book for everyone who wants to enjoy a sip of caffein in their morning, or afternoon, or night, and knowing the history, quality, taste, and how-to make their drinks.

[Vincentjones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well structured with plenty illustrations. So it is very easy to read.

The book talked about the history of coffee, the present coffee regions, different ways to brew coffee, cake recipes and an independent chapter for espresso.

There are many step by step photos for each brewing methods such as French press, Turkish and so on. I enjoyed all of these instructions. I was amazed with all the details and the quality of these photos.

There are judgement of the quality of beans from different regions and a collection of recipes. Many readers may have different opinion about them especially when the book talked negatively about their favorite coffee beans. After all, it should be a easy read book not a reference.

[Devin Muylle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you enjoy the occasional cup of joe, or are somewhat of a bon vivant on the subject of coffee, this book is a fun read and serves as a great reference guide, answering all commonly asked questions and a number of unconventional ones to boot!

The chapters are broken down nicely, covering all topics on the subject of coffee and without going into an exorbinant amount of detail gives the reader a clear, peripheral understanding of the joys and jitters (Excluding decaf...LAME!) that come with every cup.

[Peytie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute must-read for coffee enthusiasts.

What I appreciated most:

If you don't have a lot of money and can't afford to buy expensive gadgets, the book still has tons of great information about buying beans, grinding them, and brewing them as best you can. If you've got the income to buy fun coffee toys, there's lots of great guidance in the book for you, too. It's also a quick and easy read.

Highly recommended!

[Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written, but poorly edited if edited at all. A good basic overview of the topics covered. It's a pity that an otherwise good book was marred by typos and errors that a simple editing job would have removed. Oviously published by amateurs, but recommended nonetheless.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed and explanatory...good for enthusiasts.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent... everything I wanted to know. Great pictures, perfect explanations. I am jazzed about making espresso!

[Robin Hartanto · Rating 4 out of 5]

All you want to know about coffee, from alpha to omega, from history to practice.

[Sarah Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a roaster of coffee or just and avid drinking enthusist, this book as something for everyone. It is very readable. I read and use it as a reference.

[Melissa Shmish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing, exploring coffee-making as an art and a science. A delicate caffienated alchemy of time, temperature and coarseness of grind.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

362 - 2016

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really informative book and something I know I'll reference back to along my coffee-making journey.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

B...O...R...I...N...G...